To require vaccinations or not? That is the question

As a trying 2020 was coming to an end, we found a glimmer of hope in the beginning of the new year with the release and distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. With the shots likely becoming widely available in the coming months, many employers are wondering: Can I force my employees to get a vaccination? Should I require them to do so? Read on to find out more.

EEOC provides guidance

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued much-anticipated guidance on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies. In short, the guidance indicates you can require employees to receive the vaccine, subject to certain important exceptions.

Disability considerations. One exception is for employees prevented from receiving the vaccine because of a disability, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In those circumstances, the EEOC’s guidance explains you must first conduct an individualized assessment to determine if the unvaccinated employees would pose a direct threat to others' health or safety in the workplace (i.e., would expose them to the virus). In conducting the assessment, you should consider the duration of the risk, the nature and severity of the potential harm, the likelihood it will occur, and its imminence.

If you determine a direct threat will exist, you shouldn’t go straight to termination. Rather, you and the employee should engage in the interactive process to identify whether a reasonable accommodation is available that doesn’t pose an undue hardship (i.e., a significant difficulty or expense).